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Centrify is the “Clear Choice” Winner of the NetworkWorld Single Sign-on Vendor Shootout

Centrify, the leader in unifying identity management across cloud, mobile and data center, is excited and honored to be named the NetworkWorld Clear Choice winner for Single Sign-on products that improve end-user productivity and secure access to cloud, mobile, and on-premises apps via single sign-on, user provisioning and multi-factor authentication. In addition to Centrify, the review evaluated seven other vendors including Okta and Microsoft, so it was a very comprehensive look at the market.

This is a great accomplishment because in 2012, the last time the review was done by Network World, Centrify was in the process of enhancing our cloud solution to address SaaS single sign-on. So basically in less than three years we went from not being in the market to having the top rated solution, meaning we have quickly leapfrogged “first generation” solutions with an innovative next generation solution.

This is also significant because this represents an actual “roll up the sleeves” and hands-on review vs. a paper review. This is where you get more insight if the product is actually being put through the paces. For example, the reviewer said this about one of the other vendors (not Centrify!): “It is difficult to set up because you tend to get lost in the hall of mirrors…It is still very much a work in progress and mainly a developer’s toolkit rather than a polished service.” Centrify on the other hand, was found to have a user interface that was “well thought-out” and “set up was quickly accomplished.” You don’t get that type of insight unless you actually try to use the products in your comparative reviews.

A key theme of the review is the importance of mobility security in the context of SSO. NetworkWorld highlighted in the review, “Gartner analysts recently pointed out, the vendors are moving towards integrating mobile device management (MDM) as part of their identity service offerings. Gartner sees a bright future when the two types of products are better integrated, and we agree.”

Centrify realized this trend early on as the early innovator and current leader of integrated identity and mobility through the Centrify Identity Service. NetworkWorld makes note of this fact and states that “Centrify has put together a solid SSO tool that also has some terrific mobile device management (MDM) features. If you are in the market for both kinds of products, this should be on your short list.” Additionally, they note that Centrify “is a full MDM solution and not just an OTP generator like some of its competitors.”

As we all know, not all of the apps that are in use by enterprises are in the cloud. There is still, and will be for a long time to come, on-premises apps that need to be accessed from outside the enterprise by mobile workers, partners, and 3rd party vendors. Centrify is a leading provider of solutions to secure remote user’s access to datacenter servers and applications. NetworkWorld highlights that Centrify’s “web app gateway can handle internal Web server links very cleverly, without the need to connect up via VPN or poke holes in your firewall.”

Centrify has worked hard to deliver the right features to solve the most important challenges facing enterprises today whether in the cloud, on mobile or in the datacenter. We believe the NetworkWorld review is further validation and we appreciate the nod. Follow the link for more info on the Centrify Identity Service (free trial here)

Centrify CEO Tom Kemp, an industry expert in security and infrastructure software, discusses market and technology issues around the disruption occurring in the Identity and Access Management market due to the cloud, mobile and consumerization of IT trends occurring in today's IT environment.